Amendments to fishery regulations could put wild salmon at risk

Authors

In the past year, we have seen mounting evidence that a deadly disease known as heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) is threatening salmon off the coast of British Columbia.

The latest proof is from a recently-released report by a group of Norwegian scientists. This report confirmed a cause and effect relationship between piscine reovirus (PRV), which is widespread in British Columbia farmed salmon, and HSMI.

These findings stress the need to take precautions to limit the spread of PRV and HSMI when transferring salmon to and between open-net fish farms.

In September 2016, we launched a case on behalf of independent biologist Alexandra Morton, arguing that Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, has been acting illegally by issuing licenses to transfer farmed salmon without first testing for PRV.

Our case with Alex centers on section 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations, which says that the Minister may only issue a licence to release or transfer fish if they “do not have any disease or disease agent that may be harmful to the protection and conservation of fish.”

In a notice of intent posted online, the DFO signaled its plans to amend regulations for transferring live fish, including salmon.

While it is unclear is what form these changes will take, the language in the notice gives us cause for concern.

Currently, the announcement says, the DFO works with provinces and territories to manage risks associated with moving salmon from one place to another. These risks include diseases.

Since 2010, however, the department has been shifting responsibility for fish health to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

According to the notice of intent, this has resulted in “program overlap,” which the DFO proposes to address by amending section 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations, the same section of the regulations upon which our entire case with Alex rests.

Our concern is that these amendments, made under the guise of reducing overlap, will only serve to redirect responsibility to protect wild salmon from disease from the Minister to the food inspection agency.

This would not only put the future of our case into question; it would also raise the broader issue of whether Ministers should be able to shirk their responsibilities by passing them onto other agencies.

This is not the first time that the DFO has tried to sidestep its responsibility to protect wild salmon.

Back in 2015, we helped Alex secure another victory when the Federal Court struck down licence conditions that allowed the government to pass decision-making powers onto private aquaculture companies.

In that case, the judge ruled that these conditions violated section 56 of the Fishery (General) Regulations, the same section that the government now intends to amend.

The 2015 ruling was important because it made it clear that this law requires the Minister to use a precautionary approach to managing fish farms. This means that the Minister cannot use lack of scientific certainty as an excuse to put off taking action to prevent harm to the environment.

On the ground, this means that Minister must take action to prevent the spread of diseases when transferring farmed salmon– even when the science is not definitive.

Now that the government has announced its intent to change section 56, our position is clear: The Minister has a court-recognized duty to protect wild salmon and this should include keeping them safe from harmful diseases. The Minister should not be allowed to offload this onto the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Looking ahead, we hope that our initial fears about amendments to the Fishery (General) Regulations are never realized.

In an ideal world, any future amendments that are made to the regulations would be guided by the precautionary principle, and would reinforce the Minister’s duty to protect wild salmon from harmful diseases like HSMI.

Weighing in on amendments to fishery regulations

Alongside its letter of intent, the government also launched a public consultation period, which wraps up on Nov. 23.

Tell the government that you expect any amendments to the Fishery (General) Regulations will draw on the precautionary principle and align with the Minister’s duty to protect wild salmon from harmful diseases by sending an email, writing a letter, or contacting your local MP.

27 Responses to Amendments to fishery regulations could put wild salmon at risk

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David R. HampsonNovember 09, 2017

In the words of our former PM, this is a “no brainer”.
The DFO mandate is to take care of live fish. The food inspection agency has jurisdiction over food which includes dead fish.
The fish acquire these diseases when they are alive – not dead!
It is absurd for the DFO to pass this buck!

Janet olsonNovember 09, 2017

Please make sure on amending fishery regulations that all change protect wild salmon from harmful diseases and do not put them at risk in any way.

Patricia Ann SpensleyNovember 09, 2017

Any amendments to the Fishery Regulations must draw on the precautionary principle and align with the Minister’s duty to protect wild salmon from harmful diseases.

Diether PeschkenNovember 09, 2017

The DFO must work to prevent the spread of diseases to wild salmon. The DFO should not transfer this responsibility to the food inspection agency.

Louise Harbour EsquireNovember 09, 2017

These amendments are not fully scrutinized, nor thought out

marc lapointeNovember 09, 2017

Tried to send email to address given to GOC but link couldn’t be made. Worridome !

If you’d like to send an email to Minister LeBlanc via his department: min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

ArnieNovember 09, 2017

Copy of my email:
I have been following the debate around farmed vs wild salmon for some years now Our wild salmon are a precious resource and have to be protected. I do not understand why in progressive Liberal government the Minister of Fisheries must be taken to court to get him to protect our wild salmon by disallowing the fish farms to put diseased salmon into our waters. This is so counterintuitive that I find myself wondering if some kind of payola—in the form of campaign contributions–is involved.

Now I understand the government is planning to rewrite the fisheries act. I personally hold the government responsible to apply the precautionary principle to any new legislation concerning the transferring of salmon: i.e. If there is reasonable evidence that transferring diseased fish will harm our wild stock that that transfer will not be allowed.

Thank you for registering my opinion.

Venetia BodanisNovember 17, 2017

Thanks for sharing, Arnie.

JudithNagataNovember 09, 2017

How arrogant and irresponsible of the Minister of Fisheries to shirk his duty on maintaining the quality of one of Canada’s finest species and source of nutrition for Canadians. Is it laziness, ignorance or stealthy divesting of his job?. More cynically, it reflects the attitude of the trudeau administration, who pretend to care for the common welfare,. but stealthily undermine it. How will these newly contaminated fish be marketed and labelled? M Leblanc is a pivotal member of the deep state, whose members design the PM’s policies behind the scene. It is a despicable arrangement. Canadians deserve better.

Ann-Marie HunterNovember 09, 2017

Canadians deserve proper representation from the DFO to protect our wild salmon, not a government agency that pretends it’s doing its job but is actually passing the buck! It’s way past the time for the DFO to actually speak and act with intent to saving our salmon, not to further endanger them.

Mary WilliamsonNovember 10, 2017

Every yearly return seems to be less than previously. Even if the reasons aren’t clear yet, what we have been doing is suspect. The Fisheries Minister should be looking at any means to save this iconic species, not shirking his mandate by transferring it to another ministry. These fish farms need to be moved out of the ocean and onto land based containment, if they in fact need to be anywhere at all. We need healthy real salmon, not the disease-ridden excuse for salmon we are being forced to accept.

sandy staggNovember 10, 2017

please protect wild salmon from this disease……Its your duty to the fish and to consumers

Mike DanyshNovember 10, 2017

Could it be that DFO has given up? Now that it’s too late, they figure the food inspectors should take over and save DFO the trouble?

Ian MacKenzieNovember 10, 2017

In 2012 the Cohen Report, costing 26 million dollars and summarizing three years of hearings, outlined in restrained language a scathing attack on the abdication of responsibility by the DFO of their mandated duty to protect wild salmon above everything else (Recommendations 1-3).

Two governments and five years later we still have miserable implementation of his 75 recommendation, at least 13 of which require fisheries Minister Leblanc to oversee this most important protection. Instead he continues to protect the open pen fish farms which I believe Cohen would have removed from our coast completely and whipped them back to Norway if he had been given that power.

But he wasn’t. And that’s really unfortunate, because the latest proof of Cohen’s wisdom comes from a recently-released report by a group of Norwegian scientists which confirmed a cause and effect relationship between piscine reovirus (PRV), – widespread in British Columbia farmed salmon – , and HSMI (heart and skeletal muscle inflammation). Even the Norwegians don’t want this industry back in their home waters.

And that increases the heat on Leblanc. It spotlights the hypocrisy in his mandate to protect fish (an environmental and ecological duty) at the same time as he must encourage farmed fish (a perceived economic and political imperative). And so we have Minister Leblanc now trying to change the fisheries act so that he is no longer responsible for fish protection. He wants to hand this task to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. What the heck do they know about protecting ocean fisheries?

But at least such a change in the fisheries act would allow Leblanc to concentrate his efforts on open net fish farms, with all their pollution, parasites, bacteria and viruses. And he won’t have to be concerned with their effects on wild salmon.

So basically we end up without our invaluable fisheries being protected at all. Do I hear the footsteps of Harper again?

This notice of intent on the part of government should explicitly forbid open net fish farming in Canadian waters, not the shifting of responsibility for the protection of our wild fish!

Ian MacKenzieNovember 10, 2017

I’ve already written one, but now I’m phoning Leblanc’s office.

cherylNovember 10, 2017

about time thel government strengthened the regulations protecting our wild salmon and other species

Please act responsibly to protect our wild salmon. Be very careful at this stage not to make a decision that will be irreversible, especially in this time of mass extinctions, pollution and degradation of the environment. The people put their trust in DFO. Do not undermine that trust by shirking your responsibility.

Maria KaticNovember 12, 2017

Any amendments to the Fishery(General) Regulation will draw on the precautionary principal and align with the Minister’s duty to protect wild salmon from harmful deseases.

Alexandra MortonNovember 13, 2017

Dear Minister Dominic LeBlanc,
Amending Canada’s Fishery General Regulations by handing over disease testing to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is a signal that you have thrown wild salmon under the bus. The CFIA has no responsibility to ensure that farm salmon disease is not killing wild salmon. The CFIA’s mandate is to facilitate trade of animals between countries. I realize it is scary standing up to the three Norwegian-run salmon farming companies who are the “BC” salmon farming industry, but you need to man up here and stand up for wild salmon, or you are betraying this country similar to your father’s era as Minister when DFO allowed the North Atlantic cod to collapse. DO not hand disease testing over the CFIA, not even the USA believes their testing is adequate, http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/aquatic-animals/notices-to-industry/2017-04-13/eng/1492097202629/1492098104588

David JonesNovember 14, 2017

hi
My name is David Jones of Moncton
I think if you have any hope of saving the ocean at all you really need to take a look at my aquaculture wrongful conviction that occurred in Moncton NB .This was the first case of it’s kind in the country and received no publicity . Court File#09-001 . I was convicted of illegal aquaculture by Judge Jolene Richard ( Dominic’s wife and my MP who refused to even talk to me ) New trial appeal court ordered Province refused as it is not in the public interest to expose corruption that is beyond imagination . This involves over 10 years of secret investigations by armed contractors who had no judicial authority , secret searches of Canadian Government acknowledged research facility and numerous clandestine searches of private residence property ( when no one there ) .Then I was assaulted and research premise’s searched by armed contractors . This case was constructed as a cover up of many other things .This is about Perjury ,false documents ,refusal of disclosure and much more . Even though it was a provincial charge it involves all of DFO management .Even refused my English language rights . Oh Judge Jolene rules that the Canadian Government (DFO) was the complainant on file ,mmmmm DFO issued National written Science agreement to do Research and Development to Commercialization which is what I was doing ,all had full knowledge of the agreement , National Transfer and introductions # NBI&T-01-145 , Supposed to be in the National registry in Ottawa ,mmmm where is this registry ? Refused all mandated and legislated services beginning with the issue of transfer ,provincial and federal .Threatened many times over the years Why? So many caught in blatant lies and judge kept covering them up .This was not even a semblance of a fair trial , The actual discrimination shown in the court room was so palpable you could cut it with a knife , So many charter ,constitutional ,criminal ,and human rights broken during the voir dire and the trial would leave a fiction writer in shock
If you really want to know about real corruption ,this is the case
David Jones the first Canadian Scientist to be convicted for doing science while holding a written agreement to do the science that I was convicted of ,I am still being refused all service’s

Susan E BrownNovember 21, 2017

As a British Columbian, I am very aware of the critical necessity of protecting wild salmon. It is the duty of our Federal and Provincial Goverments to insure that this protection is immediate and thorough. The place of salmon in the ecology and future health of our Earth is at stake. Please act now and welcome this responsibility.

Janice FranzNovember 21, 2017

The responsibility of protecting and saving our wild salmon is the DFO and not the Food Inspection Agency. We can’t afford to have our wild fish succumb further to diseases from farmed fish. Fish farms in open waters should be banned.